Sense of Self: Olawunmi Banjo

Olawunmi Banjo (b. 1985) is a self-taught Nigerian visual artist who studied Entrepreneurship at  the Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos. Banjo began her artistic journey in hyper-realism with her  characteristic attention to detail, and has evolved her painting style to explore more surrealistic  landscapes in an attempt to re-orient typical mind-sets. In her recent body of work, Banjo  paints expressive wire figures, which explore deep ideologies by portraying everyday social and  individual realities which confront us. By keenly observing nature, works of art, and life  situations fueled by personal experiences and experiences of others, Banjo’s art is a response to  hidden realities which confront us individually and collectively across the globe.

Moments are very delicate and your decision could alter the course of someone’s life for good  or the other way around without you being aware of the impact you have made in the life of  others. It is easy to damage someone when we are numb or insensitive to the feelings of  others. When we are aware that we all process our feelings differently, it makes us try to understand before we react. Understanding the reality that we are all on different paths to  growth moves us to treat people better and by doing so we elevate their level of consciousness  and awareness. We need to be mindful with our words and actions towards people as it could  be the validation they seek to pull the trigger or be pulled back to life. Let your words and  actions be instruments in pulling people up from their despair.

For years, Banjo created highly realistic paintings with an extraordinary level of detail. In her most recent body of work, the “wire” figures predominate. This formal device gives the bodies depicted in her works a new dynamism and a greater fluidity. Before, the figures were generally static, moody, and pensive. They are now in movement. Some lines are threads and ropes that bind and pull down while others raise and liberate. For her, the intertwined cords that make her figures are metaphors of the flow of energy that permeates human life.

 

Dr. Jess Castellote